Nail Cleanser, Because Your Dirty Nails Are Screwing Up Your Mani

Okay, mani mavens, we have a morning news alert for you. As our manicurists have taught us, you're supposed to clean off the surface of your nails before applying polish, but many of us skip that step when we're trying to do our own nails. Well, now you can add this crucial step to your at-home mani routine. We give you Formula X for Sephora Nail Cleanser.

What exactly is nail cleanser, you ask? It's a combination of witch hazel and cucumber extracts mixed with Vitamin E that you paint on clean nails (read: polish-free) to remove lotion and/or other residue. It comes in a bottle that looks just like nail polish, complete with brush. It's sold alone or as part of Formula X for Sephora The System, which includes a basecoat and primer, and can all be used to get one bulletproof manicure. You also get a free polish when you buy the system so, you know, bonus.

We've played with it, testing just the cleanser over polish on one hand and using the system start to finish on the other. The hand with the system is the clear winner, and we'll report that the cleanser used on its own left the nail surface a bit rough.

The system works just like the final steps in a professional manicure, so we'd recommend going with it over just using the cleanser alone. But, if you happen to have a basecoat/primer and topcoat you like, you only need to nab the cleanser. It's like a cool insurance policy that adds a few more days of life to your polish job.

Both the system and the nail cleanser are available at Sephora. Give them a test run yourself and see what you think. Happy weekend polishing!

Formula X for Sephora The System, $32, available at Sephora.